Funding
The service provided by Trinity House is financed from 'Light Dues' levied on commercial vessels calling at ports in the British Isles, based on the net registered tonnage of the vessel. The rate is set by the Department of Transport, and annually reviewed. Light Dues are currently charged at 41 pence per net registered ton, subject to a maximum charge of £16,400 per voyage in 2010. Vessels are charged for a maximum of nine voyages per annum. Tugs and fishing vessels are liable for annual payments based on the registered length of the vessel.
Light dues are paid in to the General Lighthouse Fund (GLF), which is under the stewardship of the Department for Transport. The fund is used to finance the lighthouse services provided by Trinity House, the Northern Lighthouse Board (responsible for Scotland and the Isle of Man) and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (responsible for the waters around both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). Major initiatives such as lighthouse and lightvessel automation and the solarisation of buoys and a growing number of lighthouses have made a significant contribution to the reduction of Light Dues. The rate of Light Dues has fallen in real terms for over a decade with the rate either being frozen or cut. 2009 saw the first increase in Light Dues for 20 years.
Annual Accounts 2009/2010
Report and Accounts of the Lighthouse Service for the year ended 31 March 2010 can be viewed by clicking on the link below. Note: The audit by the National Audit Office is at a General Lighthouse Fund level and there is no provision in the Merchant Shipping Act for a General Lighthouse Authority audit certificate.